


Actions Speak Louder With Words

by tuppenny



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Body Image, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Oral Sex, Sex, Smut, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 06:48:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18463685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuppenny/pseuds/tuppenny
Summary: Takes place a couple of hours after Chapter 18 of my "Start Again" fic, but all you need to know is that Jack and Kath are married, haven't had sex in a while, and decide to go for it.





	Actions Speak Louder With Words

**Author's Note:**

> Useful to know before you read: A “combination” was the name for a common lingerie style at the time. It looked a lot like what Americans today would call a romper. Period-appropriate examples can be found [here](https://amandawynn.com/tag/1910s-lingerie/). Open-drawer underwear had no crotch and was normal back then; closed-crotch underwear had just started to become available.
> 
> Joseph Pulitzer often vacationed on Jekyll Island and had a [beach house](https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/digital/collection/vg2/id/7426) there.

**July 21, 1914 - Evening**

Katherine set her travel valise on the hotel bed and unlatched it slowly, trying to control the shaking in her fingers.

“Katherine?” Jack said from just behind her, resting his left hand gently on her shoulder.

She tried not to stiffen, forcibly relaxing her muscles so that he wouldn’t immediately pick up on her anxiety. “Let me get ready first?” She winced at how high her voice rose by the end of the question, but, mercifully, he didn’t call her on it.

“Yeah, sure,” he said, dropping his hand. “I’ll just, uh… wait here?”

She nodded, her back still to him. “You can have the shower second.”

“Right.”

She slipped into the bathroom and gave him a weak smile as she closed the door, then leaned her forehead against the cold wood and trembled. It had been so _long_ , and so much had happened in the interim, and at least they’d been sharing a bed lately, that helped, but… she hadn’t seen him naked in over a month. He’d have new scars that she didn’t know, and his strong right hand was bent, and he had yet to regain the weight he’d lost during his ordeal and early recovery days, and even though they’d been talking more, even though they’d been trying to reconnect, she still felt as if she was two steps behind their usual rhythm, dancing in a pattern that seemed right at first but soon had her stepping on his toes.  

She took a few minutes to gather herself before beginning to undress and facing herself in the mirror, trying to see herself as Jack would. She pinched her stomach, grimacing at the loose folds of skin that were the result of carrying three children to term, and despaired at the way her thighs were ribboned in stretch marks. Normally she wasn’t bothered by her appearance—her body did what she needed it to do, and Jack didn’t seem to mind that she was growing older, just as he was—but she wasn’t a fool. She knew how she looked, and she knew that even though gradual physical changes were easy to miss, seeing someone after a long absence meant … Well, it meant that Jack wouldn’t just see all of her tonight—he’d notice all of her, too. 

Katherine stepped into the shower and let the water soothe her incipient headache. She soaped and rinsed as quickly as possible, not wanting to spend a single unnecessary moment running her hands over herself. She’d already seen what Jack was about to see, and that had been hard enough; she wasn’t sure she’d have any confidence left after feeling what he was about to feel, too. She tucked her long, wet hair into a fluffy towel and bit her lip, staring once more at the figure in the mirror. Why were they doing this right now? Tonight had gone so well—they should’ve left well enough alone. Should’ve tried this another time. Ruined a different evening.

And it would be ruined, of that she had no doubt. Something about her would scare Jack away again, or her shape or size or skin would put him off, or he’d feign interest for her sake but find himself unable to follow through. She didn’t want to put either of them through that. Katherine briefly debated faking an illness or simply calling the whole thing off, but… she couldn’t. She just couldn’t. She wanted this, she _needed_ this, and she’d been hiding in the bathroom long enough. “Your turn, love,” she said cheerily, emerging dressed in a smile and a tightly-wrapped towel that she hoped would shield her from her own racing thoughts about her ungainly body.

“Thanks,” Jack said, stooping to kiss her wet hair as he passed by. “See you in a minute.” 

“Mhmm,” she said, too nervous to come up with a clever quip.

“Can’t wait ta get that towel offa ya,” he said with a wink, and shut the bathroom door.

“And then you’ll wish you hadn’t,” she mumbled, sinking onto the bed and laying a hand on her travel valise, which contained a new set of lingerie she’d bought weeks ago in anticipation of their anniversary. Should she even bother? _Come on, Katherine. If you pretend you want this, maybe you’ll believe it._ Sighing, she shed the towel and pulled on the loose-fitting combination that she’d special-ordered in periwinkle blue, a color she knew Jack liked on her. Well, it was comfortable, at least. Hopefully it was attractive, too, though she certainly wasn’t feeling that way at the moment… 

No sooner had she laid back on the pillows and arranged her limbs in an attempt at an alluring pose than Jack emerged from the bathroom, stray water droplets running down his bare chest, the wetness of his hair turning his dark brown locks as black as pitch. He looked up in the middle of toweling his hair and froze at the sight of her, his eyes widening and shifting hungrily from light hazel to near-brown. His hands drifted down to his sides, and she saw his chest swell with a deep breath. “Katherine,” he exhaled slowly, and took a step closer, shifting his left hand to the top of the towel he’d slung around his waist. “Holy hell, Katherine. _Look_ at you.” 

She scanned his face to see if he was sincere in his admiration, even though she knew he’d never once lied about these things. _Just trust him, Katherine_ , she urged herself, sitting up slightly and resting her weight on her bent elbows. _He finds you attractive even when you’re heavily pregnant; he finds you attractive now, too. Trust him._ But she couldn’t. Not quite. “Good ‘look at me’ or bad ‘look at me’?” She asked, unable to stop a crease of concern from forming between her eyebrows. 

“Fucking amazing ‘look at you,’” Jack replied, his voice growing deeper with arousal.

“Really?” She sat all the way up. “You’re not just saying that?”

Jack frowned. “Of course I’m not. What’s wrong, Katherine?”

She turned to study the brass handles on the dresser across the room. “I don’t look… I don’t feel like…” She bit her lip. “I’m not pretty right now.”

“No,” Jack agreed, and that unexpected response caused her to jerk her head back to him. “You’ve never been just pretty, love. You’re ravishing.”

“Don’t overdo it,” she warned, but he could see the smile at the corners of her eyes. “Come here, then,” she said, stretching out a hand, and he grinned. “Let me get a look at you, husband dearest.” 

He walked slowly to the side of the bed, unconsciously running his tongue across his bottom lip, and Katherine took advantage of those several seconds to admire the way the towel hung low on his hips and started to slip lower as he moved, the way the water tracked down his chest to the V of his abdomen, the slight curve and shift of his pectoral muscles. “Well?” He asked, stopping right in front of her, his clever hands hanging loosely by his sides. 

“Hmm?” She asked, still taking a mental inventory of where he’d been hurt and where he was still whole. 

He brushed his nose and then, knowing that she knew that was one of his nervous tells, crossed his arms self-consciously over his chest. “Whad’ya think?”

“I think I’m the luckiest woman I know,” she said, managing a smile. “Sit.” 

He settled several inches away, having picked up on her nerves, and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Ace, if ya don’t wanna—”

She blushed. “No, I—”

“I mean it, though,” he cut in earnestly, stretching his right hand out to her and then letting it fall into his lap with a grimace. “I know I’m not the same.” He turned his damaged hand side to side and shook his head. “Maybe we waited too long,” he said, resignation in his voice. “I did need some time at first,” he said, trying to puzzle through where they’d gone wrong. “I couldn’t stand for anyone to touch me to start with, and then I didn’t trust myself with you, and then I… well, then I didn’t wantcha ta see me until I’d had time ta heal up the worst of the scrapes an’ bruises an’ stuff.” His gaze fell to where his pinky finger used to be. “But I’m not the same, an’ neither are you. Maybe we…” He looked up at her, defeat written on his face. “Maybe this is it? Maybe this part of us is done?” 

Her mouth fell open. “What? No! Don’t overreact, you idiot! I feel insecure, and that’s making you feel insecure, and now we’re feeding off each other and making it worse and—” She made a frustrated noise, launched herself forwards, and clasped his face in her hands, pulling their mouths together with all of the intensity of the very first kiss they’d shared all those years ago.

“Mmpf!” Jack stiffened in shock and then quickly reciprocated, his damaged hand twining itself in her hair, his left hand sliding down to her hip. He let Katherine take control of the kiss and relaxed fully into the familiarity of her lips against his, the taste of her breath, the softness of her skin and her hair and her eyelashes against his cheek. She pulled back suddenly, and his lips followed her in protest, his eyes opening only reluctantly when several seconds passed without her return. “Ace?”

 _“Oh.”_ Her cheeks were flushed, and she’d pressed a hand over her lips. “That was—was that good? That was good. Right?”

“So good,” he agreed, scooting forward to restart the kiss. 

She gave a slightly hysterical giggle and burst into tears. 

Jack blinked rapidly and stared at her in utter confusion. “Uh… macushla? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know!” She said, wiping desperately at her eyes. “I don’t know, Jack, I— I want you so much, but I think I’ve built this up in my head, and I know I can’t deliver for real, and I feel like—” she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

“Shh,” Jack said, catching her chin between his thumb and forefinger and squeezing gently. “Feel like what?” 

“Like I’m going to disappoint you,” she whispered, her eyes still closed.

“That won’t happen,” Jack said firmly. 

Her eyes snapped open. “You don’t know that!”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Look, not to put too fine a point on it or anything, but it has been so long since we’ve had sex that pretty much all ya hafta do ta make me happy is touch my dick.”

Her jaw dropped. 

“Yep. An’ correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m about 99% sure you c’n do that.”

“Jack!” Katherine scolded, her face flaming.

“What!” He held his hands up in an innocent gesture. “I’m bein’ honest here. Can ya touch my dick or not?” 

She rolled her eyes and responded in as prim a voice as possible. “I am physically capable of doing that, yes.” 

“Great,” Jack said. “Then we’re okay on my end. Do we need ta talk through your side of things, too? I wanna make sure you enjoy this, an’ orgasms sometimes take a little longer f’r you, so maybe we oughta make a game plan here.”

Katherine’s tears had stopped long ago, and now she burst into genuine laughter. “A game plan? I’m not a sport, Jack!”

His expression brightened, and Katherine was instantly reminded of a puppy who’d just been offered a treat. “You’re feeling better!”

She rolled her eyes again and nodded. “Let’s give this another shot, then.” 

Jack ran his eyes appreciatively up and down her and licked his lips unconsciously. “We’ll go slow, sweetheart. We c’n stop whenever, too. You just say the word.”

She shifted up onto her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him softly on the cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he murmured, his eyes falling closed as she kissed and sucked her way down his neck. “Ahh, Katherine! You’s gonna be the death of me, darlin’…” his head lolled backwards and he sagged into her arms. “That’s good, you're so good…” 

She straightened up to brush the hair from his forehead and laid a gentle kiss to each eyelid, trying to focus on the moment she found herself in rather than running through a series of what-ifs or woulda-coulda-shouldas. _You’re here with your husband, Katherine. Your husband who loves you and wants you and is trying his best to come back to you. Your husband. Your Jack. And you’ve wanted this for weeks, haven't you? So enjoy it._ She smiled to herself and then ran her hands down his chest, watching his muscles tense underneath her cool fingertips. She leaned in to lick one of his nipples and he moaned, so she brushed across the other with her thumb. “How’s that feel?” She knew the answer, but she wanted to hear him say it.

“Like heaven,” he managed, dropping his chin to his chest and slowly opening his eyes to look at her. “And you’re an angel.” 

“I’m a pretty sinful angel,” she laughed, running her hands down his sides and starting to fiddle with the towel that was still slung around him. 

“And a pretty perfect wife,” he growled, his hands settling on her ass and beginning to knead. “Perfect mind, perfect heart, perfect body.”

“Jack,” she gasped, as he bent forwards to mouth at her breast. He hadn’t undressed her yet, but the combination she was wearing was a summer design made of thin cotton, and the pairing of his wet tongue with the extra friction of the material felt startlingly good. “You first,” she protested, scrabbling at the towel, causing his hands to stutter and still. 

She’d just found the overlap of material that she’d have to pull loose in order to disrobe him when he came to his senses and grabbed at her wrists. “No,” he commanded. “I’m gonna make you believe ev’rythin’ I’ve said tonight. I’m gonna show you how much I want you, an’ I’m gonna make you feel as beautiful as you are. Lie down.”

She furrowed her brows. “What?” 

“Lie down, Katherine Kelly,” Jack said, and his tone brooked no argument. “I’m gonna make you come.”

Her eyes widened, and she hurriedly obliged, wriggling out of Jack’s lap and flopping backwards onto the pillows, her hair fanned out around her.

“These are pretty,” Jack said, running a hand up the leg of her new lingerie, “But not anywhere near as pretty as you. Are they open-drawer or button-up?”

“Open-drawer,” she squeaked. Buttoned underwear had become available in the last few years, but she preferred the lack of fuss and the added… _opportunities_ provided by open-drawer lingerie.

“Good.” He pushed her knees gently apart and scooted inwards, his towel finally falling from his hips as he did so. 

“Ohhh,” she breathed. He was half-hard already, and she knew she could get him all the way there if he’d just—

“Lie down,” Jack ordered, his voice stern. “And hold still.” He nosed up her left leg, stopping every few inches to kiss the tender skin of her inner thighs.

Her leg jerked involuntarily as he found a particularly sensitive spot. “Jack! Stop teasing.”

He laughed and pushed her legs even farther apart, making a satisfied noise as he took in the sight of her, dripping wet and willingly spread wide for him.

Katherine whimpered as he pressed his lips to her vulva, her hands flying out to clutch the coverlet in a death-grip.

“Good?” He asked, pulling back slightly and meeting her eyes over the curve of her stomach.

“Ugh!” She huffed, exasperated. Impossible boy—of _course_ it was good.

He grinned, knowing exactly what she meant. “You can pull my hair if you want. I won’t mind. I’m okay for it tonight.”

Her eyes lit up. “Yeah?”

“Mhmm,” he murmured, already ducking his head back down and lapping upwards until he laved her clitoris.

“Aah!” She slid her hands into his hair and gripped tightly, trying not to startle him with an unexpected buck or kick. “More,” she said, spitting the word from between gritted teeth. “That’s— _more_. _Please._ ”

He obliged, hoisting her left leg over his shoulder and diving in deeper, pursuing her with just as much enthusiasm as he’d shown the first time he’d done this, a full ten years ago. He’d been good at it from the get-go, and although she’d been shocked when he’d first lowered his mouth to her, she’d quickly learned there was no reason to object. 

“Jack,” she moaned, running her fingers through his hair like he was a cat. She felt him shift a hand from her hip to palm at himself, which turned her on even more. It was intoxicating, knowing that she excited him, that giving her pleasure gave him pleasure. And she had to admit—he was making good on his promise to show her how much he wanted her.

He grazed his teeth over her labia and then shifted his attention back to her clitoris, blowing lightly before leaning in and sucking, steadily increasing the pressure and then releasing before starting over again.  _Ohhh, that was—that was_ good, _that was—_ Katherine felt the warmth in her abdomen build and spread and bloom and—she keened and clenched, unable to hold back any longer. The muscles in her neck tightened as she arched her back and let her orgasm wash over her, the contractions shaking through her core. 

Jack loved this part; the privilege of seeing her so lost in herself, of hearing her staccato breaths, of tasting her slick and touching her softness. Twenty-two-year-old Jack Kelly hadn’t realized the extent of the delights in store for him in his marriage to this wonderful woman, but thirty-two-year-old Jack Kelly was both fully aware of them and fully determined to enjoy them. He hummed in contentment as she continued to rock and moan against him, and although the hum was too low for her to hear it, oh, did she feel it. The vibrations ran through her like someone had stuck her finger in an electrical socket, and she gasped Jack’s name as the aftershocks of pleasure rippled through her, leaving her breathless and boneless on the bed.

He gave her a moment to recover before crawling up to claim her oh-so-kissable lips, smirking at the way she’d sunk completely into the mattress. “How’s my gorgeous girl?” He teased, pulling a frizzy curl away from her forehead and watching it bounce back into place. 

“Mmm,” she said, tearing her gaze away from the ceiling and giving him a lazy, blissful smile.

Jack laughed. “That good, huh?”

 _“So_ good,” she enthused, her eyes drifting slowly shut. “You were right. I’m beautiful.” 

Jack barked a laugh, and she tilted her head towards the sound and puckered her lips for another kiss. He obliged, then moved from her lips to her nose, her cheeks, her forehead. “You're the _most_ beautiful, my love. No one else even comes close.”

She made a sleepy, happy noise and opened her eyes just enough to locate his cheek and caress it. Her hand trailed across his jawline, down his neck, and caught briefly on his collarbone before she sucked in a breath and sat upright. “Oh! Your turn! I’m so sorry, I was being selfish, I just didn’t even—”

Jack chuckled and laid a finger to her lips. “You needed a minute,” he soothed. “You ain’t bein’ selfish.”

She relaxed, seeing that he genuinely wasn’t offended or losing patience, and gave him a long, languid kiss before trailing her fingers slowly downwards. “What do you want from me tonight, Jackie?” 

Jack shivered and bit his lip, trying not to moan as she wrapped her hand around him and began to stroke.

“Do you want this? Or something else?” She asked, her voice sultry. 

“I want you naked,” he gasped, “An’ then I wanna—ah! Wanna fuck you. Please.”

“Okay,” she said, pulling her hand away and standing in front of him to slip off her combination—she made sure to remove the top first, so that he could stare at her breasts as she shucked off the bottoms.

Jack reached out a hand to draw her in, then growled in frustration as she evaded him and moved to the dresser. “ _Kath_ ,” he whined. “Come on!”

“I have to get a rubber, silly,” she scolded, absolutely no annoyance in her voice. “Hang on…” She dug through her valise and emerged triumphant. “Ready?” She asked, returning to him and tearing the packet open with a noise that never failed to excite Jack.

“So ready,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut as she rolled the condom onto him. He grunted and jerked at the brush of her fingertips, counting the length of his breaths in an effort not to come before they’d even started. “Need you,” he pleaded. “Need you now, Kath, please…”

“Shh, sweetheart,” she murmured, smoothing his hair back. “Relax. Sit back. Let me take care of you.”

Jack released another groan and settled gratefully into the pillows. His eyes were glued to her body as she swung her legs over his hips and positioned herself just above him. He snorted a laugh at the saucy wink she gave just before sinking down, but as soon as she brushed against him his laugh turned into a low curse. He’d forgotten how right she felt, how much he enjoyed this, how much he’d missed it, missed her, missed her like _this_ … He’d known that he’d missed their emotional closeness, missed being able to talk to her about anything at all, but this—this had completely slipped his mind. Somehow.

And now, with Katherine surrounding him, holding him, loving him, he found one repeated question hammering around in his skull—how on earth had he forgotten how amazing this was?  _How?_

He supposed it was because he hadn’t been able to bear her touch for a while there, and he’d always shied away from intimacy when touch became difficult, but… he really couldn’t remember why that distance had felt so important. It had, but _why?_ He moaned, knowing he wouldn’t come up with an answer when she was on top of him and overwhelming him and— 

—all of his nerves began to flicker and crackle like the heat lightning they’d seen one summer when they’d joined her family for a week on Jekyll Island, and she hadn’t even started yet. This was torture. This was bliss. “Mmmph,” he said, his brain sparking as she adjusted and settled in. “Kath’rine, that’s—aaah, that’s…” He trailed off as she braced her hands on his pecs and began to move, rolling her hips in a slow, soothing motion.

She grinned as she pulled noise after noise from him, bending to kiss his mouth, his chest, to run her fingers through his hair, down his abdomen, to whisper praise and encouragement in his ear. The tickle of her hot breath drew a smattering of goosebumps down his neck and made his toes curl. “That’s it, Jackie, that’s it,” she said, picking up the pace. “Are you feeling good, darling? Is this what you wanted?” 

He answered with a wordless groan, unable to dredge up anything coherent. That didn’t seem to bother Katherine, whose smile spread even as her speed increased. “Good boy, Jack. You’re so good. You’re doing so well, you’re so good to me, I—” Her words cut off as he thrust sharply upwards, shocking the breath from her lungs. “Ooh!” 

Jack moved his hands to her hips, helping her rise and fall even as his brain shorted out with the friction and stimulation and heat rising between them. “Kath’rine,” he gasped, “Kath, I’m gonna—nngh!”

“Go ahead,” she panted, “Come on, Jack, come on, that’s it, there you go…” They both lapsed into silence as Jack’s eyes fluttered closed and his mouth fell open, the muscles in his neck cording with the force of his orgasm. They sighed as one when he finished, and Jack rolled them both sideways, reluctant to slip out of Katherine, wanting to hold her close.

“Fuck,” he said eventually, lacing his fingers together at the small of her back.

“Yes,” she said, pressing a dry-lipped kiss to his collarbone. “We did.”

Jack laughed and buried his nose in her wavy auburn hair. “You smell like sex,” he said, pulling a lock away from her sweat-soaked neck and stretching it out across the pillow.

“I can’t imagine why,” she said wryly. “I showered less than an hour ago.”

“Maybe you didn’t do it right,” he murmured, feeling his body grow heavy as sleep claimed him. “I could help you next time, you know. If you wanted.”

“Mmm,” she said, rolling out of bed to go pee. “I think I’d like that. Let’s give it a shot in the morning, when we're both more awake and able to do it properly.”

“Yeah?” He asked, his voice nearly inaudible as his thoughts and words grew fuzzy.  

“Yeah,” she whispered when she returned to him, pressing herself against his back and tucking her knees behind his. “For sure.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've realized that if I want Jack/Kath smut, I pretty much have to write it myself, so... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
